


Clove hitch

by septnanis



Category: Kingdom Hearts
Genre: Friendship, Ice Cream, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Relationship Discussions, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-21
Updated: 2019-04-21
Packaged: 2020-01-23 06:45:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,893
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18544420
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/septnanis/pseuds/septnanis
Summary: Kairi and Riku have come a long way and have learned that sometimes the friendships that need work can be the most rewarding.





	Clove hitch

Twilight Town was the best place Kairi had ever been to just sit around and enjoy the surroundings. The people bustling around, the muted orange glow of the light, the sounds and smells. She’d been sitting on a stone bench in the Town Square for almost an hour, and she still wasn’t bored yet. When Riku sent a message to their group chat on the Gummiphone that he’d be later she turned to the group and told them she’d wait for him. After a great deal of protesting from Sora, she managed to convince him to go with the rest to the movie they had planned on watching together in the open air theatre.

 

She didn’t get a lot of chances of to spend time alone with Riku.

 

One hour after he messaged she saw his figure appear in the Square, from the direction of the Station. He looked so tired and for the first time in months, so young. Sora told her he’d been struggling to keep up with everyone, torn between being a Master and a young man with new found friends who wanted to live life to its fullest now that there was peace again.

 

She raised her hand to wave when she caught his eye and she smiled back at him when he smiled at her.

 

When he reached her, his smiled dropped a little.

 

“You didn’t have to wait so long for me,” He said, looking a little ashamed, as if he’d forced her to wait for him.

 

“Don’t be silly, I said I would,” She replied, tucking a lock of dark red hair behind her ear. “Where’s my hug?” She tried to sound as offended she could, puffing her cheeks out.

 

Riku grinned and leaned down to wrap his arms around her. Kairi loved all her friends with equal measure but nobody gave hugs like Riku did. It wasn’t so much that he was tall, half of her friends were just as tall or even taller than him, but he had a way of effortlessly making someone feel like he’d keep them safe from anything. Maybe it was because she was his best friend, because she knew Riku was anxious about physical affection, and she’d seen the blissed out look on Sora’s face all too often on the rare occasion she saw them together like that. It was nice to think she and Sora got an automatic pass to invade his personal bubble.

 

He sat down next to her.

 

“Where’re the others?” He asked.

 

Kairi nodded her head to the direction of the open air theatre. “Movie. But it started almost an hour ago, so I don’t think it’ll do much good to go. We can walk around if you want?”

 

Riku nodded, “Sure.”

 

They stood and Kairi hooked her hand in the crook of his arm. It was nice to be around Riku, to feel how he’d grown from who he was years ago to the man he was now, a calm strength radiating off of him.

 

“You look so tired,” Kairi said, as they walked down the boulevard.

 

Riku, who was gazing casually into a window of a flower shop, turned to her. “Oh, I… really?” He asked, and he looked a little nervous.

 

He had slight circles under his eyes and slightly hollower cheeks. His hair was growing long again, but it was just a tad unkempt for him, Riku was usually so particular with the way he looked. Kairi knew some people thought him a little vain, but she never thought so. He was handsome and he put effort into looking good, there was nothing wrong with that. Especially for boys, sometimes they could be such slobs. His clothes were even a little wrinkled, like he’d almost put the effort into straightening them out but didn’t have enough time to.

 

“I think maybe you’re pushing yourself a little too hard, Riku,” She said, giving his arm a squeeze.

 

He shook his head, “I can handle it.”

 

“That’s not what I meant. I know you can handle it, we all know that,” She replied with a gentler tone. “But you need to rest sometimes, and getting six hours of sleep is not resting. You’re seventeen years old, you should be able to have fun with your friends and just relax and be lazy once in a while.”

 

Riku’s brow furrowed but he said nothing in return.

 

“I know Sora would really like it if you had more time off,” It was a just a little bit cheating, but Kairi always believed using your knowledge of others was powerful. “Ever since you two got back, you’ve barely had any time to spend together.”

 

“We’re not…!” Riku suddenly said, looking alarmed. “I mean, of course I want to spend time with him, he’s my best friend.”

 

Kairi sighed as they continued to walk, two happily laughing children running around their legs before speeding off. “Riku, I know how you feel…”

 

“It’s not like that, Kairi, I promise,” Riku said, almost frantically. “I’d never try to get between you two.”

 

“Which means it _is_ like that,” Kairi replied and her heart hurt when she saw the look in his eyes before he looked away. Looking back, it was easy to see Riku had always felt that way about Sora. When she finally realised it, it had been easier to understand why he’d been the way he’d been and how he’d treated her. And it was easier to admit she hadn’t always acted right herself. Admitting that, for both of them, had been the foundation to repairing their friendship. But he’d never admitted he loved Sora, like he’d be crossing a line into territory he wasn’t allowed in if he did. “Riku, you’ve got to stop using me as an excuse not to tell him. It's not fair to anyone, especially to you.”

 

Riku looked shocked. They were honest and open with each other now, but Kairi was far more of a saying exactly what she was thinking sort of person.

 

“We’re not like that,” She continued. “Sora and I. I’ll always care for him, but whatever we felt when we were kids with no cares living on a sunny island drawing silly pictures in cave is a precious memory to me now. He’s my very best friend, and he’s head over heels for my other very best friend.”

 

Riku’s shocked face had slid into a myriad of emotions, ones that made Kairi both happy and worried.

 

“Promise me you’ll tell him,” Kairi said, giving his arm a tug. “Let him surprise you. You and I know better than anyone how good he is at that.”

 

Underneath the tired look on his face, Kairi saw a hint of a blush and a spark in his eye. Even his shoulders seemed to lift just slightly. If merely the idea of Sora caring about him as much as Riku did made him perk up, she could barely imagine how he’d be when they finally told each other.

 

“Oh, can we get some ice cream?” She asked, pointing at the ice cream shop as they continued to walk. “I’m really in the mood for something sweet.”

 

Riku smiled down at her, “Sure, but I’m buying.”

 

“Of course! You didn’t think I brought it up because I was going to buy them?” She batted her eyes as if she was an actual princess and smiled when Riku laughed.

 

“Just… can we not get sea salt?” Riku asked. “I can’t stand the taste.”

 

Kairi stopped in her tracks, her hand still caught in the crook of his elbow. He turned around and gave her a confused look.

 

“I am _so_ relieved! I thought I was the only one!” She cried out. “I keep getting them shoved into my hand so I eat them, but they just taste like…”

 

“The ocean!” Riku exclaimed at the same time she did. “I _know_! The last time we were at the ice cream shop I saw they had fudgesicles made with real fudge and I wanted one so bad, but everyone was getting sea salt. I didn’t want to offend anyone.”

 

Kairi laughed and broke out into a run, dragging Riku behind. “This is our chance, we should try all the different flavors before they get back!”

 

Her sticky chocolatey fingers and the brain freeze she got ten minutes later was totally worth it, especially with Riku sitting beside her complaining just as loud.

 

—-

 

“There you two are!” Sora waved with his entire arm, running right up to them. “You missed the whole movie!”

 

Three different ice cream flavors and no room left for dinner later, Riku and Kairi sat on the bench she’d been sitting on to wait for Riku before. Kairi looked out the corner of her eye and saw the happy glow that automatically filled Riku’s face when he saw his best friend.

 

“Sorry, Sora. I was really late and then Kairi said we should get ice cream. And you know the rules,” Riu said.

 

“Kairi’s always right.” Sora said, like it was an absolute truth. Kairi giggled and gave him a playful jab.

 

In the distance she saw the rest of their friends, talking and laughing and likely trying to figure out where they’d go to eat dinner. “I’m gonna go ask Olette how the movie was.” She said, standing and making her way to the others.

 

Both Riku and Sora watched her go and Riku was still looking in her direction when Sora suddenly turned back to him. “It really is too bad you missed the movie, Riku. Maybe uhm,” He looked a little hesitant, which was always a strange look on Sora. “Maybe we could go see a movie another time?”

 

Riku nodded, feeling a little nervous himself. “I’d… I’d really like that.” It seemed foolish how awkward they were being around each other and it suddenly dawned on Riku that Kairi really was always right. Had he really been looking straight past how Sora felt for the past few months? It was so obvious now, the way Sora always sought him out whenever they were somewhere even if there was dozens of other people, the way he’d look at him sometimes.

 

“It’s just that,” Sora laughed a little nervously, putting both hands behind his head and tilting to the side on one foot, like he did sometimes. “Olette said there’s this other movie, and it’s supposed to be really nice. But I know you’re really busy, so I don’t want to bother you. I should be getting back into the swing of things anyway, get ready to do the Mark again soon and…” He was babbling and if everything else didn’t make the pieces fall into place then that would.

 

“Sora, I’d really like that. We could go together? Just you and me?” He asked, feeling foolish but brave. It was the make or break moment, he’d been waiting years wishing and wondering if it was something he could have and now it was over a silly discussion about seeing a movie.

 

“Yeah,” Sora replied, looking happy. “That’d be great!”

 

When Sora reached down and took Riku’s hand in his own, Riku didn’t need to see Kairi to know the look she was probably giving him.

 

She’d make up for it later anyway and Riku actually looked forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> A clove hitch is a difficult knot, but once you can tie it, it's really sturdy.
> 
> I wanted to write a Kairi & Riku friendship fic for a while, so this is it. It obviously has a little background Soriku, because that's just the way I roll. They go to the movie and hold hands and maybe even kiss afterwards, because they're a little silly.
> 
> I'm also on Twitter, so if you'd like to make a new friend, you can find one at @laughertea.
> 
> Hope you enjoyed!


End file.
